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Telepresence and the Role of the Senses

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On the Cognitive, Ethical, and Scientific Dimensions of Artificial Intelligence

Part of the book series: Philosophical Studies Series ((PSSP,volume 134))

Abstract

The telepresence experience can be evoked in a number of ways. A well-known example is a player of videogames who reports about a telepresence experience, a subjective experience of being in one place or environment, even when physically situated in another place. In this paper we set the phenomenon of telepresence into a theoretical framework. As people react subjectively to stimuli from telepresence, empirical studies can give more evidence about the phenomenon. Thus, our contribution is to bridge the theoretical with the empirical. We discuss theories of perception with an emphasis on Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty and Gibson, the role of the senses and the Spinozian belief procedure. The aim is to contribute to our understanding of this phenomenon. A telepresence-study that included the affordance concept is used to empirically study how players report sense-reactions to virtual sightseeing in two cities. We investigate and explore the interplay of the philosophical and the empirical. The findings indicate that it is not only the visual sense that plays a role in this experience, but all senses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Norsk Regnesentral, Oslo, Norway

    Ingvar Tjostheim & Wolfgang Leister

  2. Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden

    J. A. Waterworth

Authors
  1. Ingvar Tjostheim
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  2. Wolfgang Leister
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  3. J. A. Waterworth
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Correspondence to Ingvar Tjostheim .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Humanities, Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX, USA

    Don Berkich

  2. Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Università di Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy

    Matteo Vincenzo d'Alfonso

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Tjostheim, I., Leister, W., Waterworth, J.A. (2019). Telepresence and the Role of the Senses. In: Berkich, D., d'Alfonso, M. (eds) On the Cognitive, Ethical, and Scientific Dimensions of Artificial Intelligence. Philosophical Studies Series, vol 134. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01800-9_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01800-9_9

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